This post is part of a series called The 2011 Tōhoku Earthquake SENDAI, Japan–As I drive into the town of Rikuzen-Takata, a scene similar to a nuclear holocaust comes into focus. The town was flattened by the velocity of the tsunami, and only a few concrete structures can be seen in the distance. The field is full of wood debris about 5 feet high. As I walk up to the large canal in the middle of town, which is about 200 meters wide, I cannot believe what I see. A large steel bridge that went over the canal has been…

This post is part of a series called The 2011 Tōhoku Earthquake SENDAI, Japan–An ancient inlet valley surrounded by snowy mountains appears before me at sunset. But the smell of oil and death burns my nose at the same time. An old fisherman approaches me and points in the distance. “You see those three oil tanks out there? Those tanks created all the deaths here. A 10-meter tsunami overcame the seawall, and it destroyed the tanks and spilled oil into the bay. The oil caught on fire, and it became a hell of fire and water.” The bay turned out…

This post is part of a series called The 2011 Tōhoku Earthquake SENDAI, Japan–I pick up a fragment of a small shell from a sandy beach. This brings back memories from 30 years ago, when I camped here. It was a sunny and warm summer day then. Today, the beach of Arahama is cold. This community was hit by a massive 10-meter tsunami last Friday. The area behind me looks as if a nuclear bomb blast just happened. Everything was wiped out. Debris is everywhere. Dusk is coming, and snow is starting to fall heavily, with a strong mountain wind.…

This post is part of a series called The 2011 Tōhoku Earthquake TOKYO, Japan–My super packed train has stopped again. I am in the middle of Tokyo heading to Shibuya to catch a van to the North. The threat of a power outage has changed the train schedule. People are getting sick in the trains, since so many people are packed in tightly together and the train frequently stops due to sudden schedule changes. I sense a dark cloud of stress hovering over this well organized, advanced society. This earthquake disaster is evolving into something much more than anyone expected…

This post is part of a series called The 2011 Tōhoku Earthquake TOKYO, Japan–I was in the train near Ikebukuro station when the train suddenly stopped with a loud creaking noise at 2:55 pm today. Japan’s state-of-the-art earthquake system at work…. That’s what I thought at first. But it has been a struggle since. It is 1:30 am now and we are still not far from where the train stopped. Japan Railway actually closed down the stations and sent out all commuters into the cold night. They announced that they are concerned about structural safety. Continuous aftershocks make me feel…

This post is part of a series called Miyamoto in Haiti Today the Japanese Ambassador asked us to do a damage assessment on their eight-story embassy in Port au Prince. Dominic, our engineer, and I met the ambassador in front of the building. The Ambassador is a friendly international expat type. This is highly unusual for a Japanese bureaucrat He speaks perfect French but not English. He told me “I was living in Africa for my most of professional carrier. It was not easy but nothing prepared me for this disaster” He had a tall bodyguard with him, as well…